I love tea! I am a big fan of all types. From green teas to herbal teas if I’m not drinking water, it’s tea you’ll find in my cup 🙂

Although I love tea in all its flavors, I am a self-proclaimed tea snob!! I choose organic, loose leaf herbs to blend together in my tea creations. Now in a pinch I will drink a cup of tea made from boxed tea (Yogi Tea is one of my favorite types of boxed tea), but the flavor and depth is very different when I blend my own teas. Blending your own tea is a creative and magical process that not only lets us find our perfect cup of tea but it is also a sacred way to connect to the herbs. It has been my experience that plants love when we give them attention and in response to that attention, the plants will happily offer us their herbal medicines. To take this connection another step further, you can also harvest your own herbal plants for making tea. (I will talk about harvesting wild plants in another post)

Before we get into the details of blending tea, let’s talk about some steps leading to that point;

Step #1: Get some herbs and tea! So where does one acquire the items needed for making a tea blend? There are many dried herbs and teas that you can find at your local grocery store. Look for loose herbs and teas that are either fair-trade and/or organic. Another great tea and herb source is the internet, just be sure to look for reputable companies like Mountain Rose Herbs,  https://www.mountainroseherbs.com/ or from Star West Botanical, https://www.starwest-botanicals.com or Winter Sun Trading Company, http://www.wintersun.com/ or better yet, find some local herbs and teas.

Step #2: Get some supplies. Find a tea strainer that you like. There are many different ones on the market to fit different needs. A tea pot with a built in strainer is a simple and effective way to make a couple cups of tea at a time. Teavana makes a great cast iron tea pot that’s appealing on the eyes and helps keep the tea warm. They are a little pricey but they last a really long time (I’ve had mine for years and it is still going strong). Their website is http://www.teavana.com. A simple and less expensive solution is to use a tea strainer. Stash Tea has a variety of cute ones at https://www.stashtea.com. The last supplies you will need is your favorite tea cup and a glass jar to store your blend in.

Step #3: Let the blending begin!! Now we get to create our delightful tea blend. In my opinion the sky is the limit as far as how many different flavors you can create but there are some simple guidelines to help you get a solid foundation to work from. Here are some combination ideas from Bulk Herb Store’s blog post How to make your own tea blends.

Here are a few recipes from Mother Earth News to get your creative juices flowing!!

Alfalfa Mint Tea

Ingredients:
1 cup of died alfalfa
1 cup of dried spearmint, peppermint or bee balm leaves

Lemon Mint Tea

Ingredients:
1/2 cup of dried peppermint leaves
1 cup dried alfalfa
3 tablespoons of dried lemon balm leaves
3 tablespoons of dried, grated lemon peel

Strawberry Ginger Tea

Ingredients:
1 cup of dried mint leaves
2 cups of dried strawberry leaves
1 tablespoon of powdered ginger

Cinnamon Rose Hip Tea

Ingredients:
1 stick of cinnamon
1 cup of dried rose hips
1 teaspoon of dried, grated lemon peel
1/4 cup of dried lemon grass or lemon balm leaves

Anise Elderberry Tea

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons of anise seeds
1 cup of dried alfalfa
1 cup dried elderberry blossoms
1 teaspoon of dried, grated orange peel

A good rule of thumb is a tablespoon of herbs per 1 cup of tea. The above recipes are for a large batch of tea. The remaining tea can be stored for latter or be shared with friends.

Before starting this process be sure to take a moment to pause, breathe and get centered. Give thanks to the plants for the medicine and blessings they offer. This is a great time to set an intention for what you want to ‘infuse’ into the tea blend, or to give thanks for the tea helping a condition you may have, or simply feeling gratitude for the plants.

Short on time?? Design a Tea is a website that lets you design your own personal blend that they will blend and send to you in tea bags. They use organic ingredients and have reasonable prices. Check them out at  http://www.designatea.com.

What type of blends did you create? Leave a reply below and let’s keep the discussion going~